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ever-expanding collection of primary-source full-text articles from the music and mainstream press from the 1950s to the present day, along with a collection of
exclusive audio interviews.

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unrestricted remote and on-site access to each text and audio file in the database. For full terms, please click here.

Rock's Backpages is the world's most comprehensive online database of pop music writing, a unique resource unavailable elsewhere online. It contains an
ever-expanding collection of primary-source full-text articles from the music and mainstream press from the 1950s to the present day, along with a collection of
exclusive audio interviews.

Subscriptions to Rock’s Backpages are available for institutional or personal use.

For institutions, Rock's Backpages is provided as an unlimited access subscription, meaning that all staff, students and library patrons have
unrestricted remote and on-site access to each text and audio file in the database. For full terms, please click here.

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Ray Fox-Cumming

Ray Fox-Cumming had his first taste of show business when he was made Pinewood correspondent of the local paper on which he trained. This involved spending every Thursday afternoon at the studios lots, finding out about new films being made there and gleaning movie gossip.

After that he spent a miserable year in fashion journalism, before finding his true home at Disc & Music Echo. He arrived in 1972, a fantastically exciting time when several enduring world stars were making their breakthrough. David Bowie, after soldiering away in the wilderness for ten years after his hit single Space Oddity suddenly struck gold with Ziggy Stardust; Lou Reed, legendary leader of the Velvet Underground, gained his first commercial success with his second solo album Transformer; Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music burst on to the scene with their zany first single 'Virginia Plain' and never looked back; and Freddie Mercury and Queen were soon to breach the top ten for the first of many, many times with 'Seven Seas of Rhye'.

With most of Discs journalists claiming more established artists as their territory, Ray set his sights at these new rising stars. He interviewed them frequently, socialised with them and became personal friends with most. He was in the studio to watch Bowies Diamond Dogs being recorded, and David once sent him an orchid to keep you outrageous over Christmas. Another year Bryan Ferry sent a case of fine wines as a festive thank you for a glowing review of his underrated single 'You Go To My Head'.

The heady days at Disc came to an end when Ray left shortly before the paper closed and later he went to work for Discs erstwhile rival, Record Mirror, but it was never the same. Times had moved on and the music had changed. He didnt pretend to understand Northern Soul and punk left him cold.

He then went to work as a music publicist for RCA and then BASF, but was far too indiscreet to be any good at it. At around this time in the late seventies he wrote his two music-related books - Stevie Wonder and the best-selling Disco Fever, and freelanced for Tatler and other glossy magazines.

Ray's career in journalism ended at The Observer in 1995 where he had been working on the papers Arts Review. After a short bout of ill-health he reinvented himself as a hotelier and restauranteur, which remains his metier today. Writing has become a sideline, but the music goes on. Left on a desert island he would be as happy as a pig in the proverbial just as long as he was allowed to take his Lou Reed and Marianne Faithfull CDs with him